Brake system



Dec. 20, 1960 2,964,826 7 N. E. KLEIN ETA].

BRAKE SYSTEM Original Filed March 1, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 NORMAN E.KLEIN CHARLES D. LUCAS GEORGE A. MOBLEY Dec. 20, 1960 N. E. KLEIN ET AL'BRAKE SYSTEM 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed March 1, 1954 INVENTORSNORMAN E. KLEIN CHARLES D. LUCAS BY GEORgZfMOBLEY ATTORNE Y pg "Dec. 20,1960 N, KLE|N Em 2,964,826

BRAKE SYSTEM Original Filed March 1, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORSNORMAN E. KLEIN CHARLES D. LucAs GEORGE A. MORLEY Dec. 20, 1960 N. E.KLEIN ETAI. 2,964,826

BRAKE SYSTEM Original Filed March 1, 1954 4 Shets-Sheet 4 0. ms A.MOBLEY ATTORNEY United States Patent" 2,964,826 BRAKE SYSTEM Norman E.Klein, Pendleton, Charles D. Lucas, Clemson, and George A. Mobley,Spartanburg, S.C., assignors to Deering Milliken Research Corporation,Spartanburg, S.C., a corporation of Delaware Original application Mar.1, 1954, Ser. No; 413,132,

new Patent No. 2,924,869, dated Feb. 16, 1960. vided and thisapplication July 3, 1959, Ser. No. 824,847 r 9 Claims. (Cl. 28--28) Thisis a divisional applicaion of the copending appli cation of Norman E.Klein, Charles D. Lucas, and George A. Mobley, Serial Number 413,132,filed March 1, 1954, now PatentNo. 2,824,869.

This invention relates to brakes and braking systems and moreparticularly to braking systems suitable for use beaming operations itis necessary that the section beams be braked in order to provide theproper tension in'fthe warp and to prevent the warp fromoverrunning'during such times as the apparatus is being brought to astop. At present, braking action for the section beams is customarilyprovided by placing a weighted rope or band around one or both. heads ofeach of the section beams in peripheral grooves provided for thepurpose.

from a larger value. A further reason why these efforts have beenlargely unsuccessful is that conventional brakes ordinarily do not havea linear response so that the amount of braking torque resulting fromthe application of the brake is not necessarily proportional to theamount of force applied to the brake activating means. A still furtherimportant reason why these efforts have generally met with fai.ure isthat there has not been available a braking system capable of evenlycompensating for the different braking torques required as the diameterof the section beams is decreased and which is also integrated toachieve a substantially constant let-off tension in the warp.

According to this invention there is provided a brake suitable for useon section beams wherein two disk shaped braking surfaces are engaged infrictional contact by the expansion of a bellows due to internal fluidpressure and there is also provided a fluid braking system suitable foruse with the new brake in beaming operations. The new system evenly andadequately compensates for the change in diameter of the yarn supply onthe section beams and also detects and compensates for letspiteofnumerous suggestions over a period of many years for replacingsuch"brakes with a more precise system, rope brakes continue as thechoiceof most of the industry. n i" i The disadvantages of weighted ropebrakes are well recognized. in the art. The brakes require constantattention since as the diameter of the yarn supplyon each of the sectionbeams decreases, it is necessary to decrease the braking action tomaintain a constant tension in the warp and this means that an operatormust be continually removing weights from the rope brakeson each of thesection beams throughout the beaming operation; A second well recognizeddisadvantage of rope brakes is that the braking action is not decreaseduniformly as the weights'areremoved, and one obtains a step wisereduction of braking action 'A further serious dis-' advantage of theweighted rope brakes is that. the ropes soon become frayed so that thebraking action on'various section beams is not uniform and, as a result,some section beams run out of yarn much sooner than others. As the yarnremaining after one beam is out cannot readily be employed in thepreparation of a warp, this results'in what is known to the trade assoft waste.

In spite of the fact that the disadvantages of rope brakes for beamingapparatus have been recognized for many years and many efforts have beenmade to replace the rope brakes, none of these eifortshave met with anydegree of. commercial success. One reason that," these efforts have notbeen successful is that conventional mechanical brakes in allinstances;- possess measurable operating friction in the control systemwhich-results in objectional hysteresis characteristics. In other words,the amount of braking torque obtained wtih the application of a givenforce to the brakeactivating means varies'with conventional mechanicalbrakes depending upon whether the selected value is approached from asmaller value oroff tension variations in the warp, resulting in thewarp being maintained under a' substantially constant tension at alltimes.

It is a feature of the new braking system that it allows for theadjustment of minimum braking torque without allowing the warp toslacken on stopping of the beaming apparatus.

it is a further feature of the braking system that the braking torque onall of the; section beamsis substan-. tially the same thereby insuringthat the beams will run out at substantially the, same time with theelimination of soft waste. r

.It is a furtheradvantage of the new braking system when applied tobeaming apparatus that the tension in the warp. is maintainedsubstantially constant at all times irrespective of the diameter of theyarn supply on the section beams, thereby insuring that the warp will bewound on the warp beam at a constant tension.

Still another feature of the new braking system is that it, providesmeans responsive to the diameter of the yarn supply and means responsiveto the tension in the warp which are adapted to be employed incombination or individually to control the braking torque applied to thesection beams. f

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings in which: Y

Figure 1 a fragmentary perspective view, showing principal parts inlocation, of a sizing apparatus employing the new, brakes and brakingsystem.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the new braking system.

' Figure 3 is a view in perspective of the new brake as: applied to asection beam.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the new brake taken substantially alongthe line 4, 4 in Figure 5. v r V Figure 5 is a section view of thenewbrake looking substantially along the line 5, 5'-in Figure 4.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, there is illustrated inFigure 1 a conventional rayon slashing apparatus modified to employ thenew brakes'and braking system of this invention. Certain elements of therayon slashing apparatus such as the creel and warp beam are notillustrated as they are conventional in designand form no part of thepresent invention.

A plurality of section beams 10 each of which has been previously woundwith a multitude of yarn ends are arranged in two tiers and feed yarnends to a comb ll.

7 After passing through the comb 11', yarn ends from all of the sectionbeams 10 are combined into a warp'lZ which is drawn over a roller 13 andinto a size box 14 where it is coated with a suitable sizing solution.The warp 12 is subsequently passed over drying rollers 15 and iseventually collected on a warp beam, not illustrated.

Each of the section beams has a barrel section 16 on which the warp endsare wound and a head or flange- 17 at each end of the barrel portion.Extending centrally from each of the heads 17 is a journal or gudgeon 18on which the section beams are adapted to be journaled for rotation.Mounted around the gudgeon 18 on one end of each of the section beams 10is a fluid activatable brake, generally indicated by the referencenumeral 19, to be more specifically described in subsequent paragraphs.

Each of the brakes 19 is operatively connected to a header 20 which, asbest shown in Figure 2, is connected to a pump 21 through a conduit 22containing a check valve 23, a filter 24 to remove any suspended matterfrom the fluid, a valve 25, a controllable pressure regulator 26, aconstruction such as needle valve 27, and a two-way selector valve 28.An air reservoir 29 is operatively connected to conduit 22 between thecheck valve 23 and the filter 24 and serves the purpose of smoothing outfluctuations in pressure introduced by the operation of the pump 21 and"also serves. in combination with the check valve 23, as a fail s femechanism so that in the event of pump failure, the check valve 23closes and the air reservoir 29 provides suflicient pressure to furnishbraking action until the slashing apparatus can be brought to a stop.

A pressure indicator 30 is connected to conduit 22 by means of aconnection 31 immediately preceding the twoway selector valve 28 andserves the purpose of measuring the pressure being su plied to brakes 19during normal operation. An escape nozzle 32, which as will besubsequently explained acts as a second ry pressure regulating means, isconnected to conduit 22 immediately preceding the connection 31 by meansof a conduit 33 and a valve 34. A safety valve 35' is connected intoconduit 22 at a point intermediate the selector valve 28 and the header20 as a precautionary measure to prevent the pressure being applied tothe brakes from rising above a safe value.

Aby-pass '36 containing a pressure re ulator 37 is connected to conduit22 at a point intermediate the filter 24 and valve 25'and to the two-wayselector valve 28. A pressure indicator '38 is provided for measuringthe pressure of fluid in by-pass 36 between the pressure regulator 37and the two-way selector valve 28. A second by-pass 39 containing valve40 is operativelv connected at one end to conduit 22 at a pointintermediate the filter 24 and valve 25 and at the other end to aconnection 41 immediately following the valve 27.

The pressure regulating means 26 is operated by a feeler arm 42 pivotedat one end from a suitable support 43 and having at the other end acontact for the, yarn supply on beam 10 such as a small roller indicatedbv the reference numeral 44. The roller 44 is preferably made of a lightweight material such as cork and is adapted;

to be held against the surface of the yarn supply on a selected one ofthe beams 10 by the tension spring in the regulator 26. As the diameterof the yarn supply on the section beam 10 decreases, a corres ondingmovement of the roller 44 and arm 42 allows pressure regulator 26 toclose and decrease the pressure being supplied to brakes 19 by conduit22.

After the warp 12 passes through comb 11 it is passed over a stationaryrod 45 and then under a rod 46 which is resiliently-mounted by virtue ofleaf springs 47 only one of which is shown. The warp is-then passedupwardly over roller 13 so that the rod member 46' is gree ofdisplacement of the rod 46 will be dependent on the tension in the warp12. The nozzle 32 is positioned immediately below the spring member 47so that the spring member acts as a variable closure for the nozzle.

In operation, the slashing apparatus is provided with full sectionbeams, pump 21 is started to build up suitable operating pressure, andthe selector valve 28 is positioned to open by-pass 36. Pressureregulator 37 is opened sufliciently to give approximately the correctbraking pressure and the slasher is placed in operation. Pressureregulator 37 is then adjusted to give exactly the desired braking actionas determined visually. The reading of pressure indicator 38 is notedand with the selector valve 28 still in the position to open by-pass 36,and with needle valve 27 wide open and valve 34 closed, pressureregulator 26 is adjusted to give a reading on pressure indicator 30slightly in excess of that on pressure indicator 38. Valve 34 is thenopened and nozzle 32 positioned with the respect to the spring member 47so that the escape of fluid from nozzle 32 is appreciable but notexcessive. As pressure regulator 26 will be trying diligently tocompensate for the loss of fluid through nozzle 32, it will be foundthat the reading of pressure indicator 30 has fallen but slightly sothat needle valve 27 is then closed sufficiently to give a reading onpressure indicator 30 identical to that on pressure indicator 38. Theescape of fluid from nozzle 32 is then again checked to make certain itis satisfactory in volume and if necessary readjustment of nozzle 32 andneedle valve 27 is made. When the escape of fluid from nozzle 32 issatisfactory and the reading of pressure indicator 30 is identical tothat of pressure indicator 38, selector valve 28 is operated to closeby-pass 36 and open conduit 22.

' As has been previously explained, it is necessary that the brakingaction be decreased as the diameter of the yarn supply on the sectionbeams decreases in order that the tension in the warp be maintainedconstant. It will be apparent from the above description that this isaccomplished by pressure regulator 26 providing a decreased pressure onthe fluid being supplied to brakes 19 by reason of. the movement of arm42 with decreasing yarn supply diameter. Pressure regulator 26 is,therefore, the primary pressure regulating means and the purpose of theescape nozzle 32 in ordinary operationis that of a secondary pressureregulating means responsive to warp tension. The escape of fluid fromnozzle 32 not only smooths out small fluctuations in warp tension innormal operation but also reduces braking torque during starting andincreases torque during stopping thereby preventing unnecessarystretching and.

overrunning of the warp. In other words, should the tension in warp 12decrease slightly, the rod 46 is lowcred as a result of the tension inspring members 47 thereby decreasing the volume of fluid escapingthrough nozzle32 so that the fluid pressure being supplied to brakes19.is equal to the, pressure in conduit 22 between pressure. regulator 26.and .needle valve 27. On the other hand should the tension in warp 12increase above the desired value, rod 46 and spring members 47 areraised vertically thereby allowing an increased escape of fluid fromnozzle 32. Due to the constriction in conduit 22 fu'rnishedby valve 27,this results in a reduced fluid pressure being applied to the fluidactivatable brakes 19, so that the tension in. the warpis decreased. IIt is a feature of the present braking system that it can be operatedwith either nozzle 32 or pressure regulator 36 serving as the ,sole,pressure regulating means and this is advantageous in numerousinstances. If for example pump,21 becomes defective so that it isincapable of furnishing. sufficient fluid to operate the sys: tem whenescape nozzle 32 is in operation, it may be desirable to operate thebraking system solely by means of'pressure regulator 26. On the otherhand if the pressure regulator, lflshouldbecome defective in actionsteam 21c 32 as the sole pressure regulating means.

To operate the braking system with regulator 26 as the sole regulatingmeans, a correct operating pressure is determined as explained above byby-pass 36 and pressure indicator 38. With valve 34 closed and valve 27open, pressure regulator 26 is then adjusted so that pressure indicator30 gives a reading identical to that of indicator 38. The selector valve28 isv then operated to close by-pass 36 and open conduit 22. e Tooperate the braking system with escape nozzle 3 as the sole pressureregulating means,- a correct operating pressure is determined'by meansof by-pass 36 as above and with valve 25 closed and valves 34 and 40open, nozzle 32 is positioned to give a pressure reading on indicator 30equal to that on indicator 38. If the escape of fluid from nozzle 32 isexcessive, valve 40 should be partially closed and nozzle 32 againadjusted to give a correct pressure reading on indicator 30. When theescape of fluid from nozzle 32 is satisfactory and the reading ofpressure indicator 30 is identical to that of pressure indicator 38,selector valve 28 is operated to close by-pass 36 so that flujd pressureis then supplied to the brakes through by-pass 39, conduit 22 and header20.

Reference will now be made to Figures 3, 4 and of the drawings whereinthe new fluid activatable brake is illustrated in greater detail. Thereference numeral 50 designates a tubular sleeve adapted to be placedover a-gudgeon 18 extending centrally from the head 17 of a sectionbeam. As gudgeons of various section beams vary slightly in diameter, anadapter sleeve 51 is provided to eliminate needless play. Sleeve 50 isprovided with an annular flange 52 near one end and attached to theflange 52 by any suitable means such as by bolts 53 is a centrallyapertured, disk shaped member 54 having a wide peripheral annular flange55. Secured to the flange member 55 for instance by welding :is a lugmember 56 adapted to engage any one of a number of ribs 57, with whichthe heads of section beams :are conventionally provided, and therebysecure the disk member 54 and sleeve 50 for rotation with section beam10.

Journaled about sleeve 50 and free to rotate with re- :spect thereto byvirtue of low friction bearings 58 and :59 is a cylindrical housing 60.The housing 60 issecured against lateral movement by a grease retainerring 62 and lock nuts 63 and 64 threaded onto sleeve 50. The housing 60is provided with a pair of opposed arcuate flanges 65 to which an endmember 66 of a toroid shaped bellows 67 is attached by any suitablemeans such as by bolts 68. The opposite end member 69 of the toroidshaped bellows 67 serves as a brake shoe to which there is attached asection of brake lining material 70 by any suitable means such as byscrews 71 having their heads recessed within the brake liningmaterial.The braking surface of brake shoe member 69 is adapted to frictionallyengage the inner surface of the disk member 54 which, of course, ismachined to a high degree of smoothness to present a suitable brakingsurface and to eliminate unnecessary abrasion of the brake lining 70.The braking surfaces as well as the flexible part of bellows 67 areprotected from external dirt and lint by means of flange 55 which servesas a protective cover.

Mounted through the brake shoe 69 in spaced relationship to the housing60 is an inertia ring member 72 having an annular flange 73. The innerperipheral edge of brake lining 70 is provided with an annular recess 74toreceive the flange 73 which is maintained in sliding frictionalcontact with the brake lining 70 by means of a number of clip springs75. The springs 75 are mounted in suitable recesses 76 in the brakelining material and are secured to the brake drum member 69 by screws77.

The end member 66 of the bellows 67 is provided' with an orifice 78 intowhich a suitable fitting79 isthreadedr The fitting 79 is connectedby asuitable conduit 80,to-

header 20 (Figure 1) for the supply of a fluid under pressure.

The housing 60 is provided with a pair of trunnions 81 suitable forsupporting the same in a trunnion box 82 quite similar to that withwhich creels are conventionally equipped. The trunnion box 82 ispivotally secured to a slide, not illustrated, but conventional inconstruction, which in turn is mounted in a housing 83 and is movablelaterally in a conventional manner by rotation of the wheel 84. Thehousing 83 is in turn rigidly attached by any suitable means such as abolt 85 to a convention creel standard 86. I

In operation,-the bellows 67 is expanded lengthwise. by internalpressure above atmospheric by. means of a fluid being admitted throughconduit and fitting 79. On the expansion of the bellows 67, the brakelining material 70 frictionally engages the smooth surface of rotatingdisk member 54. Since the brake lining 70 is not free to rotate becauseof its attachment to bellows 67 and housing 60, a braking torque isexerted on disk member 54 and since disk member 54 is secured forrotation with the section beam 10 by means of lug 56 bearing against rib57 of the section beam head 17, the section beam is eficctively braked.As will be apparent, the magnitude of the braking torque is dependent onthe. internalpressure in bellows -67-;which can be effectively varied bychanging the pressure on'the fluid being supe plied through conduit 80.I The brake lining 70 is secured against rotation only by virtue" of itsattachment to the free -end of. bellows 67 and since bellows 67 is notcompletely torsionally rigid, this introduces the likelihood of highfrequency vibration of the brake shoe member 69. The inertia ring member72 provides means for effectively damping the high frequency vibrationwhich may possibly result because of this arrangement. does not preventrotation of the brake shoe member 69, it momentarily discouragestransient actions because of the inertia of the ring and the slidingfrictional contact of the flange 73 with the brake lining 70 so that thebrake shoe member 69 is eflectively prevented from oscillating in arotary manner.

Having thus described our invention, that which is claimed is:

l. A braking system for a rotatable strand let-ofl device comprising avariable action brake operatively connected to said strand let-01fdevice, a diameter detecting device adapted to detect the diameter of asupply of strandular material on said rotatable let-off device and beingconnected in brake-controlling relation to said brake, and a strandtension detecting device adapted to detect the tension in'strandularmaterial proceeding from said rotatable let-off device and beingoperatively connected in brake-controlling relation to said brake.

2. A system according to claim 1 wherein said brake is a fluid actuatedbrake.

3. A system according to claim 1 wherein said diameter detecting deviceis a movable mechanical feeler disposed adjacent and in engagingrelation to the surface of strandular material on said let-off device inthe operation condition.

4. A system according to claim 1 wherein said brake is a fluid pressureresponsive brake comprising an expandable bellows having a brakeshoeelement operatively movable thereby and adapted to brakingly engage acomplementary brake surface synchronously movable with said let-offdevice.

5. The system according to claim 1 including a plurality of strandlet-off devices, a corresponding plurality of brakes, each operativelyassociated in braking relation to a corresponding one of said let-ofidevices, said diameter detecting device and said tension detecting de-While the inertia ring 72 vice being operatively connected inbrake-controlling relation to:each;of said brakes and let-off devices.

6. A-system according to claim 5 wherein each of said let off devices isa section beam from which yarn is drawn to form a warp.

'7. A system according to claim .6wherein said section beams comprise aslashing apparatus creel.

8. A system according to claim 1 whereinsaid tension detecting devicecomprises a fluid bleeder valve and a bleeder valve restricting elementmovable to restrict the flow of fluid from said blecder valve as afunction of strand let-off tension.

9. A braking system for a slashing apparatus including a creel and apluralityofsection beams from which yarn is drawn to form a warp, eachof ,said beams including a head and gudgeon extending-from said head,said braking system comprising :a .brake for each of said beams, saidbrakes including, in each instance, a sleeve to incase said gudgeon, adisk shaped brake member carried by said sleeve, a lug member on saidbrake member to engage one head of said beam and to secure said brakemember for rotation with said beam, a cylindrical housing journaledabout said sleeve, a toroid shaped bellows positioned about said sleeveand secured at one end to member in sliding frictional contact with saidlined sur:

face, a pair of trunnions on said cylindrical housing tosupport thehousing in said creel and to secure the same against rotation; means forsupplying fluid under pressure to the bellows of each of said brakes, afeeler arm cooperating with one of said beams to measure the diameter ofa yarn supply thereon, primary pressure regulating means cooperatingwith said feeler arm to decrease, with decreasing yarn supply diameter,the pressure at which said fluid is supplied to thebellows of each ofsaid brakes, tension responsive means responsive to the tension in saidwarp, a secondary pressure regulating means cooperating with saidtension responsive means to increase, with decreasing tension in saidwarp, the pressure at which said fluid is supplied to the bellows ofeach of said brakes, whereby said warp is retained under a substantiallyconstant tension.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS789,522 Beckman May 9, 1905 1,958,839 Shelor May 15, 1934 2,023,674Fawick Dec. 10, 1935 2,098,422 Keen et al. Nov. 9, 1937 2,261,891Stewart Nov. 4, 1941 2,268,329 Ash Dec. 30, 1941 2,382,570 Kraft Aug.14, 1945 2,518,158 Marcy Aug. 8, 1950 2,627,103 Jennings Feb. 3, 19 532,752,658 Ingham July 3, 1956 2,752,659 Ingharn July 3, 1956

